Disclaimer: Everything Power Rangers related in this story is the property
of Saban Entertainment. I'm just writing this series for my enjoyment
and for the enjoyment of others.
Author's Notes: This is my eighth story in the Power Rangers Beyond
series. It comes after "The Chameleon" Read the Prelude, it provides a short
profile on all of the main characters in this series. I got this idea from
the Batman Beyond TV series. This series will be set on the idea that the
Rangers were already morphed when came to fight off Astronema's forces
in Countdown to Destruction, therefore, their true identities still remain a
secret. And now on with the story!

Outside of the Bank of California building, two security guards kept a close
watch for any suspicious activity. Over the past week there had been several
bank robberies in the Angel Grove area.

"I don't know why any rational thinking person would be out at this
time of the night," commented one of the guards.

"Well all of the robberies took place late at night," the other guard
replied.

The guards continued their patrol of the building, until a humming sound
caught their attention. "Its coming from around the corner," one of the
guards said, as the guards drew their guns. When they turned the corner they
came face-to-face with a green goblin.

The guards held the their guns on the creature, trying to hide their fear
from him. "Think again, goblin."

The goblin used a spray can to fire a misty, green chemical into the faces
of the guards. With the guards coughing and sneezing, Voncho ripped the
building's front door off of its henges, setting off a burglar alarm.
"I smell money, lots and lots of money," sang the creature, as he entered
the bank.

Once inside, Voncho placed two detonators in front of the vault door, with
the intention of blowing the vault open.

"Didn't your mother every tell you its not polite to steal?" came a
voice from behind the goblin. He turned around to see all six Power Rangers
in their fighting stances.

"I was wondering when you Rangers would get here. Now the real fun can
begin!" Voncho then sprayed the Rangers with the chemical, which appeared to
have no effect on them.

"Our suits protect us from your spray," the Red Ranger stated. Chris then
punched Voncho to the ground. The green goblin shook off the pain and then
got up.

"I'm not dumb enough to try to fight all six of you, besides,
you'll realize what I've done to you later on." The goblin then
teleported away.

"I wonder what he meant by that last remark?" Stephanie questioned.

"I don't know, but I think we should let Billy check us out." Chris
suggested. The Rangers then teleported away.

After running every kind of test he could think of, Billy came up with
nothing.

"But that green guy said that we'd find out what he'd done to
us, later. I mean I'm assuming it has something to do with that
spray." Nick stated.

"Well I've come up with nothing. Ya know its possible that your powers
shielded you from the effects of that spray," Billy explained.

"The best thing for you guys to do is to go home and get a good
night's rest," Andros advised. The Rangers had no objections to that
suggestion.

"Yes, your hinus, they did, and I sprayed all six of them," Voncho grinned.

"Excellent! Pleasant dreams, Power Rangers," the princess hissed.

As Stephanie entered the living room, her parents were sitting on the couch,
watching television. Noticing that she had entered the room, her father
turned down the volume, and addressed her.

"Stephanie, please have a seat. There is something your mother and I have to
discuss with you," he spoke, sternly. An uneasy feeling ran through the
girl's body as she sat in a chair.

Mrs. Fairchild took a deep breath, and then began to speak. "Stephanie, your
father and I have been very concerned about the company that you've
been keeping. I mean, we've heard all sorts of rumors about why that
Chan girl was sent here to live with her aunt. And I've heard several
teenage girls at the beauty parlor, that I attend, talk about how friendly
they are with Joseph Guerrero."

"And I don't even want to bring up those Medlin boys, but I heard that
they had run-ins with the law when they lived on the east coast," Mr.
Fairchild added.

‘Those are just rumors. I would never hang around with anyone who
didn't have the same values that the two of you raised me to have,"
Stephanie protested. Her parents accusations against her friends were
beginning to upset her, but the worst was yet to come.

"Stephanie, I want you to be honest with us on this next question," Mrs.
Fairchild cut her daughter a stern glare. "Are you dating Timothy Bennett?"

"I thought we told you that you couldn't date until you began
college?" Mr. Fairchild reminded. "You will end the relationship
immediately, or else."

"Or else what?!" Stephanie had gotten the words out before she could halt
herself, and now she was sure her parents would chastise her for her tone of
voice.

"Okay that's it!" Mr. Fairchild slammed his hand on the arm of the
couch. "Pack your bags, young lady, because we're sending you to
Branscoffi."

"But that's in New York. I'll never see my friends again!" the
girl cried.

"That's the idea. We cut you some slack and let you go out without a
bodyguard, and you broke our trust by associating with those lower class
kids," her father stated.

"I won't go to that private school! I won't do it!" Stephanie
yelled.

Stephanie began to feel lightheaded and soon she found herself on a plane,
looking down as Angel Grove faded into the distance.

"Next stop, Albany, NY," she heard her mother say.

"No, No, No, NNNNNooooooo!" screamed Stephanie.

"NNNNNNooooooo!" screamed the girl. She sat up in her bed and looked around.
She was home, safe and sound. What a horrible dream, she thought.

Joseph took his stance, preparing to toss the football to an open Wide
Receiver. He noticed that a Defensive Back was closing in on the receiver,
but he had to take the chance. I can make a big play, and be the hero of the
game.

Joseph hurled the football, and watched in absolute terror as it sailed into
the hands of the Defensive Back. The player raced in the opposite direction,
scoring a touchdown, and winning the game for his team.

"Guerrero, you idiot! Joseph, you suck!" were just some of the hackles the
crowd hurled his way.

In the locker room no one would talk to him. Finally, his football coach
walked up to him.

"Joe, what were you trying to pull out there! You know I told you that
we'd use a running play." The coach got right up in Joseph's
face. "Before you leave, I want you to turn in your uniform, cause this is
the last time you'll ever cost us a game!"

"But I thought I could---," Joseph stated, as tears began to streak from his
eyes.

"That's just it! You didn't think!" The coach then walked away
in disgust.

Joseph changed into his normal clothes, handed his uniform over to the
coach, and slowly left the fieldhouse.

Outside, he was greeted by several angry students, who all wanted a chance
to slug him.

"Nice game, hot shot!" yelled Vinnie.

"You'll never play for us!" yelled a college football scout from
Syracuse.

The Hispanic teen encountered several other insults as he made his way to
his car. As he approached his car, he saw the one person, who he thought
would always be on his side, his girlfriend, Michelle Chan.

"Michelle, I never thought I'd ever be so glad to see you. Can we go
somewhere and talk?" Joseph said sadly.

"Michelle! Michelle! Michelle, please come back!" Joseph yelled helplessly.
I really did it this time. I've been kicked off the football team,
become Angel Grove High's most hated student, and to top that off,
lost my girlfriend. What else can happen.

"Joseph,"

Joseph looked up to see Andros and Tommy standing in front of him. "You guys
have got to help me. Everyone has turned against me."

"You brought all of this on yourself," Tommy hissed.

"There's no room on the Power Ranger Team for failures, so hand over
your morpher. It will be given to someone who is truly worthy of being the
Blue Ranger," the Kerovan stated.

Joseph sadly pulled the morpher off of his arm and handed it to Andros. He
then got into his car and drove away.

"Ahhhhhhh!" Joseph said as he sat up in bed. "Man, that was weird."

The Gold Ranger slowly entered a dark cavern. He didn't know why he
was here, but he could sense that danger was nearby.

As he ventured deeper into the cavern, Nick began to hear heavy breathing.
The Ranger summoned his Dragontamer and continued on until he came
face-to-face with Goldar.

Tommy and Billy had told Nick many stories about the gold wearing,
monkey-like, villain. Nick had always been thankful that Zordon's
energy wave had destroyed Goldar, along with most of the other members of
the UAE. But how was it possible that Goldar was now standing before him?

"Welcome, Gold Ranger." the evil creature greeted, as he drew his sword. "It
looks like you're all alone."

"W-W-Where did you come from? I mean, you're suppose to be space dust
now," the Gold Ranger slowly began to back away.

Nick was a hothead, and though he had been doing a whole lot better about
controlling his temper lately, no one and he meant no one referred to him as
a coward, and went unpunished. "You'll pay for your insults, you ugly
space dog!"

The Gold Ranger and Goldar then began to battle. Nick gained the early
advantage by kicking Goldar's sword out his hand. The Gold Ranger then
followed up his attack with some Power Punches. Goldar was groggy from this
assault, but refused to give up. He stunned the young Ranger, with a swift
kick to the midsection. The evil creature continued his attack by smacking
the Gold Ranger on the arm, which caused sparks and fire to emit from the
suit.

As Nick fell to the ground, he demorphed.

"Let's see how tough you are when you're not morphed," Goldar
snarled. He delivered a mighty kick to Nick's ribs, causing the Ranger
to writhe in pain.

"I'll never say that. I'd rather die than bow to you!" Nick
cried as he struggled to his feet.

"So be it," Goldar extended out his hand, and literally reached into
Nick's chest, and began to pull out Nick's heart.

"NNNNNNoooooooo!" yelled Nick, as he fell off his bed. He looked around, and
was thankful that it was only a dream. "I knew I shouldn't have eaten
that plate of barbecue before laying down."

Michelle found herself in a dark alley with a bloody knife in her hand. She
was terrified when she looked down to see the gory body of her Aunt Cassie.
"Aunt Cassie! NNNNoooo!"

How could this have happened? What am I doing out here, in the first place?
Michelle could here police sirens in the distance. They would be here soon,
and she didn't know what she'd tell them. Michelle wanted to
run. She wanted to just get away from the scene of her aunt lying on the
ground. Every muscle in the Asian girl's body tightened, as she found
it impossible to move.

Michelle could feel the handcuffs being applied to her wrists, and could
heard the voices of the officers as they read her rights.

Michelle now found herself, in a ceil, and now Andros, Ashley, Joseph, and
the Phantom Ranger. were standing outside of the ceil.

‘How could you, Michelle? How could you kill your own aunt?" Ashley
sadly shook her head at the Asian girl.

"She was so good to you. She took you in when no one else would, and this is
how you repay her," Andros scoffed.

‘You killed the only woman I'll ever love!" cried the Phantom.

"I don't know how this happened! I loved Aunt Cassie! I really did!"
As Michelle pressed her face against the bars, her four visitors backed
away.

"Well love doesn't make you butcher a person, like you did," Ashley
snapped.

"Its a good thing the officers gave the Pink Power morpher to us, without
asking any questions. I can't believe we gave it to you , in the first
place," Andros said.

"They also told us all about your run-ins with the police, back in New York
City," Ashley said.

‘Joseph, please tell me you don't hate me! Tell me you still
love me!" Michelle screamed, glancing over at her boyfriend, who was just
now beginning to speak.

"I hate you, Michelle Chan! I hate you with everything that is within me! I
hope they give you the death penalty!" Joseph raged.

"No! No, you don't mean that!" tears began to pour from
Michelle's eyes in long streams.

"We all do! You're a disgrace to everything the Power Rangers have
stood for!" the Phantom Ranger scorned.

"Good-bye, Michelle, and we hope you burn in the hot place, for what
you've done," stated Andros. Michelle tearfully watched as her former
friends walked away.

I can't believe it! I moved to Angel Grove to make a fresh start, and
now I've done the unthinkable, I've killed my own aunt!

Michelle sat up in bed, her nightgown soaked in tears. Her fear seemed to
fade away when she looked to her right.

"Its okay, Michelle," Cassie assured. "It was only a bad dream."

"But it was so real! I dreamed that I killed you!" Michelle began to cry
again. "Aunt Cassie, I want you to know that I would never do anything to
hurt or upset you. Your my favorite aunt, and I love you."

‘I love you too, Michelle." Cassie gave her niece on hug. "It was only
a nightmare."

Tim found himself standing in the street, and in front of him was his
burning house. He could heard gunshots, and the screams of his parents.

"Mama! Daddy! No!" Tim said, as he tried to move, but couldn't.

Now Timothy found himself, in a cemetery. A horde of spirits, including his
parents, had risen and were now pointing accusing fingers at the White
Ranger.

"Why weren't you there when we needed you, son? Why?" cried the
haunting voice of Matthew Bennett.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Tim said as he dropped to his knees.

"Sorry won't bring us back!" retorted Tim's mother.

"And now you wear that White Ranger uniform. You use one of the most
respected groups in the entire universe to hide behind. You don't
deserve to be a Power Ranger!" Matthew Bennett angrily proclaimed.

"You're right! You're right! I don't deserve the Power!"
Tim snatched off his morpher and tossed it to the ground.

Tim awoke to see both Andros and Ashley standing beside his bed. Apparently,
he'd been screaming, and now they wanted to know what was wrong.

"It was my parents. They blamed me for their deaths," Tim explained.

‘Relax, Tim, you had a nightmare. Your parents were good people, and
they would never blame you for what happened to them," Ashley assured.

"I've never had a dream like that before. I mean, it seemed so real,"
Tim laid back in his bed and settled back to sleep.

The Rangers had summoned the Liberty Megazord, and were currently battling
Voncho.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Is that the best you can do, Rangers?" Voncho taunted.

"We'll show you what we can. Let's hit him with the Fire Wheel,"
Chris stated.

"Yeah, remember Billy said that we shouldn't use it until he gets a
chance to fully test it," Joseph reminded.

"We've hit that goblin with all of our other weapons, so we'll
just have to take the risk. Now charge up the Fire Wheel," the Red Ranger
commanded.

As Voncho ran towards the Liberty Megazord, a wheel of fire shot out of the
Zord's chest, hitting the monster, and sending him to the ground.

The Megazord then began to overload with energy, and before the Rangers
could escape the Zord exploded.

The Red Ranger emerged from the ashes, and frantically searched for his
teammates. He found Tim, Stephanie, Michelle, and Joseph's bodies
amongst the fiery remains of the Megazord's torso.

"C'mon, you guys, you've got to get up." The Red Ranger tried to
wake the White Ranger, but to not avail.

"Chris," came the voice of the Red Ranger's brother, Nick. The Red
Ranger raced over and tossed some debris aside to uncover his brother.
"Nick, hang in there, buddy.'

"Its too late, man, I'm dying. Chris, I just want you to know that you
were the best brother that a guy could ever have," Nick said weakly. "I love
you, bro." With that the Gold Ranger breathed his last breath and died.

"No, this can't be," Chris cried, as he removed his helmet.

"Oh but it is, Red Ranger. Your desire to defeat me, has cost your friends
their lives. Some leader you are. You lead your fellow Rangers right to
their doom. ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" Voncho taunted, as he stood near the
wreckage.

‘No!" Chris yelled, sitting up in bed. The African-American teen
gathered his thoughts and then hopped out of bed. "What a nightmare."

The next morning, at school, the six teens could barely stay awake in their
classes. Lunch time had finally arrived and the Rangers had found a quiet
table in the corner of the cafeteria, to talk about their dreams.

"I'm telling you guys, I've never experienced anything like that
before. I mean it was as if my greatest fear had become reality." Stephanie
trembled as she tried to explain her feelings.

"Same here," Nick stated. "I've had my share of nightmares in the
past, but last night it was like the one thing that I dreaded most of all
was now staring my in the face."

"And the strangest thing about it was that everytime we went back to sleep,
the nightmares came back." Michelle wiped a few tears from her eyes, with a
napkin.

‘Do you guys think that stuff that the goblin sprayed us with could
have caused our nightmares?" Joseph proposed.

"That sounds like the most likely asumption. After all, before he left,
remember the creature said that we would find out what he'd done to us
later," Chris reminded.

"So what are we going to do now? We just can't go on having restless
nights," Stephanie said.

"Yeah, look at us, we haven't been able to concentrate all morning,
and this could really cause problems if we have to go into battle," Tim
added.

"I think we should have a meeting in the basement this afternoon," Michelle
suggested.

"An excellent idea. After school, we'll go home and get our homework
done, and then we'll all meet in the basement at around six-thirty."
Chris stated. The other Rangers all agreed with this plan, and left the
table, to finish their school day.

"Blane, you will accompany, Voncho as he engages the Rangers in battle,"
Princess Zara commanded. "Your job is video tape the battle. I want to
observe how well the Rangers perform, after their unusual night."

"As you wish, Princess Zara," Blane bowed.

The orange-haired princess then handed Voncho a sword. "This is the Sword of
Fear. When you wield it against the Power Rangers, it will bring their fears
to them while they're in battle," she explained.

"Do you want me to destroy them?" the goblin inquired.

"Not at first, I want to learn more about them. Perhaps there may be a way
to lure them to our side," A wicked smile invaded the princess's face
at this thought. "Now go." The goblin and Blane then dissolved into two
green beams of light and left the room.

In the basement, the Rangers met with Andros, Ashley, Billy, and Tommy.

"Ya know, what happened to you guys reminds me of a scheme that Rita Repulsa
hatched against the other original Rangers and I," Billy began to explain.
"We had gone to the mountains to study for our final exams. Well, Rita
planted a device that could bring out our worst fears in nightmares."

"So how did you guys ruin her plan?" Nick asked.

"Only by overcoming our fears, were we able to win," the original Blue
Ranger responded.

"Hey, guys, there's a disturbance near NASADA. I'll bring the
picture up on the viewing screen," Ashley stated. Everyone watched as a
scene of Voncho smashing up parked vehicles appeared on the computer's
viewing screen.

"He's trying to lure us out into a battle," Chris guessed.

"Well then let's not disappoint him," added Nick.

"Let's Rocket!" the Rangers shouted, in unison.

"You guys have got to face up to your fears, or else you'll never be
able to defeat Voncho," Andros stated.

The Rangers took aim at Voncho with the Power Canon and fired, causing the
villainous goblin to burst into flames.

"No more nightmares," stated Joseph.

"Hey, you guys, look up there!" Michelle pointed up to Blane.

‘Its Blane!" Chris said.

"Some other time, Rangers!" With that Blane disappeared.

"Well, we did it. We destroyed that goblin, so now our nightmares will
cease," stated Michelle.

"Remember your nightmares were inspired by your own fears, so until you guys
can overcome these fears, I'm afraid the nightmares will continue,"
Andros warned. "However, I don't think they'll occur everytime
you guys go to sleep, since you destroyed the Sword of Fear."

"So what do we do if the nightmares do continue?" Nick asked.

"I think what you guys need is a vacation. There's a three day weekend
coming up, so why don't you guys head for the mountains," Ashley
suggested.

"That will give each of you a chance to sort out your feelings, and it might
even help you guys grower closer as a team," Andros added.

"Well we now know that those teenagers aren't perfect. Each of them
have secrets that haunt them," the Brood princess stated with a sense
curiosity.

"Your hinus, I think I've figured out a way to track the Rangers,"
Blane stated.

"How?"

"Well the chemical that Voncho used of them can be used as a marker. Give me
a few days and I'll whip up a tracking device which can detect the
Rangers," Blane explained.

‘So be it, Blane. You have two days," the princess replied.

"I'll begin work on it, immediately," Blane teleported away.

"It won't be long now, Zara," Hodges stated.

"Yes, soon, we'll be able to hunt the Rangers down and destroy, once
and for all," the Brood princess stated as she and Hodges toasted two
glasses of red wine.